KARACHI, Nov 1: National selector Ijaz Ahmed has backed underfire Pakistani skipper Shoaib Malik and urged the nation’s cricket board to retain him as captain for the forthcoming Test series against India early next year.

Ijaz, a former Test batsman, who is now a national selector, said that in his personal opinion the captain of the national side should not be changed before a crucial series and would like to see Malik continue as a change in the captaincy for the Indian series might have a negative effect on the team.

“It is an important series for us as we have not played any Test match this year.

“India has always been our main rivals in cricket. It is better to continue with a captain whose style is familiar to the team,” Ijaz said.

Malik’s captaincy tenure ends on Dec 31, but PCB’s governing body is expected to review his performance after Dec 31 and decide whether to retain him or appoint a new skipper.

—Agencies